Table of Contents

The World in Six SongsChapter 1: Taking It from the Top or "The Hills Are Alive . . ."

Music and poetry. The two uniquely human components of the music brain.

Chapter 2: Friendship or "War (What Is It Good For)?"

Social bonding, synchronous coordinated movement, the evolution of emotional bonding, protest music for group cohesion.

Chapter 3: Joy or "Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut"

The first song. Neurochemical effects of music and music therapy.

Chapter 4: Comfort or "Before There Was Prozac, There Was You"

Why we listen to sad music when we're sad. Lullabyes and the blues. (And a short story about depressed restaurant workers pushed to the edge by a happy song.)

Chapter 5: Knowledge or "I Need to Know"

Music as an information-bearing medium. Learning, memory, and oral histories.

Chapter 6: Religion or "People Get Ready"

The role of music and ritual in creating order, reducing ambiguity, and commemorating important times and events.

Chapter 7: Love or "Bring 'Em All In"

The sense of hearing and the prefrontal cortex. Tools, musical instruments, and shaping the environment. The evolution of social structure.

Appendix
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index

About the Author

Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, is a neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist, and bestselling author. He is Founding Dean of Arts & Humanities at the Minerva Schools at KGI in San Francisco, and Professor Emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at McGill University. He is the author of This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, A Field Guide to Lies, and Successful Aging. He divides his time between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reviews

“A must-read...A literary, poetic, scientific, and musical treat.”—Seattle Times

“Masterful...Eminently enjoyable.”—Los Angeles Times

“Why can a song make you cry in a matter of seconds? Six Songs is the only book that explains why.”—Bobby McFerrin, ten-time Grammy Award-winning artist (“Don't Worry, Be Happy”)

“A fantastic ride.”—New Scientist

“Leading researchers in music cognition are already singing its praises.”—Evolutionary Psychology

“Exquisitely well-written and easy to read, serving up a great deal of scientific information in a gentle way for those of us who are—or just think we are—a bit science-phobic.”—Huffington Post

“Fascinating. Provides a biological explanation for why we might tap our feet or bob our heads in time with a favorite song, how singing might soothe a baby, and how music emboldens soldiers or athletes preparing for conflict.”—Associated Press

“An exemplary mix of scientist and artist, student and teacher, performer and listener.”—Library Journal (starred review)

Charles Darwin meets the Beatles in this attempt to blend neuroscience and evolutionary biology to explain why music is such a powerful force. In this rewarding though often repetitious study by bestselling author Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music), a rock musician turned neuroscientist, argues that music is a core element of human identity, paving the way for language, cooperative work projects and the recording of our lives and history. Through his studies, Levitin has identified six kinds of songs that help us achieve these goals: songs of friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love. He cites lyrics ranging from the songs of Johnny Cash to work songs, which, he says, promote feelings of togetherness. According to Levitin, evolution may have selected individuals who were able to use nonviolent means like dance and music to settle disputes. Songs also serve as "memory-aids," as records of our lives and legends. Some may find Levitin's evolutionary explanations reductionist, but he lightens the science with personal anecdotes and chats with Sting and others, offering an intriguing explanation for the power of music in our lives as individuals and as a society. (Aug.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

"A must-read...A literary, poetic, scientific, and musical treat."-Seattle Times

"Masterful...Eminently enjoyable."-Los Angeles Times

"Why can a song make you cry in a matter of seconds? Six Songs is the only book that explains why."-Bobby McFerrin, ten-time Grammy Award-winning artist ("Don't Worry, Be Happy")

"A fantastic ride."-New Scientist

"Leading researchers in music cognition are already singing its praises."-Evolutionary Psychology

"Exquisitely well-written and easy to read, serving up a great deal of scientific information in a gentle way for those of us who are-or just think we are-a bit science-phobic."-Huffington Post

"Fascinating. Provides a biological explanation for why we might tap our feet or bob our heads in time with a favorite song, how singing might soothe a baby, and how music emboldens soldiers or athletes preparing for conflict."-Associated Press

"An exemplary mix of scientist and artist, student and teacher, performer and listener."-Library Journal (starred review)